AJ Nash can flat out ball. Period. Full stop. Blessed with wonderful natural ability, AJ can do it all on the court. With his tremendous skill set, he can get to the rim at will and has range out to the three point line. AJ is one awesome dude on the court and gets a leg up on the rest of us mere mortals via his parents. Dad is from the Cape Shore (think Carl English and Fatima Academy) and Mom hails from Bay d’Largent but went to school in Jacques Fontaine (closed in 1996) for her high school years due to population decline, St. Bernard’s school then meshed with Jacques Fontaine to become Fortune Bay Academy. A lot of good players came out of this area with Donny Power (AJ’s uncle) being a name that keeps coming up! Anyway enough about what makes AJ special, let’s delve into his career to date until and see what this baller is bringing to the table!
1 - Can you give us an introduction. Name, high school, are you still involved with basketball now?
AJ Nash, Played 3 years at O’Donel in Mount Pearl, 1 year at Rothesay-Netherwood (Covid happened and AJ went back home to ride it out) and is now playing for the UNB Saint John SeaWolves in Saint John, NB!
2 - What got you hooked on basketball?
Basketball has always been big in my family and I can remember going to watch my older brother Joshua play when I was a younger. I knew then that I was gonna have next!
3 - best coach at any level?
AJ had to share two favourite coaches.
Cameron Tobin and Chad Langdon. Cameron made a big impression on AJ as being a positive role model and knowing how to motivate players. AJ learned a lot from Coach Tobin and is quick to share how much he respected and appreciated him.
Chad Langdon runs a skills clinic in St. John’s that is heavily subscribed
And quite modern…something that has been missing in NL. AJ had great success working with Chad and added significant core strengths and flexibility to his repertoire under Chad’s watch.
4 - tell me about your high school gym. How was the Level of fan support?
AJ was not a huge fan of his gym at O’Donel. It was hard to keep clean, the floor was just OK and the fans only had about three feet of sitting distance on the floor! Fan support was pretty much limited to family, friends and teachers. When AJ and company made it to Grade 12 they had a lot more fans from the school and were quite good. They had the gym rocking on Friday nights!
5 - tell me who were your top 3 teammates are or currently are because you are still a student?
Matt Pennell - AJ and Matt have been best friends & teammates since grade 3 and know each other super well on and off the court. Pennell is a prodigious scorer who can flat out get buckets and play tough defence. Now playing for St. FX, look for him to shine with the Nationals being held in Halifax next year! And he will also get a super cool X ring when he graduates!
Chris O’Halloran - Another of AJ’s favourite teammates was Chris O’Halloran, a player two grades ahead of AJ wh played the role of the “cagey” veteran who passed on his experiences to the younger ballers! Chris didn’t pursue any bball past high school instead he found a career in the Canadian Armed Forces where he is stationed in Gagetown, NB.
Ryan “Big Country” Bugden
Ryan Bugden can best be described as a “ glue “ guy who keeps everyone together during the game. He was always there with a kind word and constantly kept motivating his team to experience success. He had a good jumper as well I hear!
6 - What was your record for points per game in high school? Most points in a single game?
Over the course of his three years AJ averaged 15 - 20 points per game on the varsity! AJ scored 50 points in his Grade 12 year in the semi-finals of the O'Donel Patriots Invitational tournament…wow!
7 - most memorable basketball
Defeating a squad of Holy Heart of Mary Highlanders who were 33 and 0 on the year! They were beating teams by 60 points most nights so beating them h
8 - Have you played any provincial NLBA basketball in the summer AJ? Where have you travelled for basketball?
AJ has never tried out for NLBA travel teams. He prefers to get his body taken care of during the summer and work out with added rest built in for sure.
9 - who is the most difficult player you have guarded?
Ryan Harnett, Corner Brook Regional High School
Ryan was an explosive talent for the Titans with a lightening first step and shooting range to the three point line ensured AJ had his hands full with Ryan! Upon graduation Harnett played for King’s College three years and finished up his basketball at Dalhousie Univ m ersity!
10- last question and just for fun…who is your favourite NBA team? Favourite NBA player?!
The Golden State Warriors are AJ's fav team with Draymond Green (repping Michigan State) as his fav player!! I like Andrew Wiggins off that team, they would not have been able to win without him!!
Did I miss anything? Anything you wanted said that I left out?
I would like to thank AJ for taking the time to answer my questions and reminisce about his basketball days in Mount Pearl and Saint John, NB. These articles are not designed to create conflict but are simply written to allow the reader an inside look at their favorite NL basketball player and wonder what they are up to now. I love the writing, the discussing and the dreaming! I was left wondering what if Covid-19 had not happened and AJ could of had his year at RNS?Playing a travel schedule would have been awesome for coaches in the USA to get a chances to see AJ hoop. Anyway...lots to think about for sure.Thanks again Mr. Nash! I will be watching the SeaWolves live stream for sure buddy!
AJ
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